No. 16 Arizona rolls over Texas Southern 85-63

TUCSON, Arizonia — Lauri Markkanen scored 19 points and hit five 3-pointers, helping No. 16 Arizona bounce back from its first loss of the season with an 85-63 rout of Texas Southern on Wednesday night.

Arizona (6-1) jumped on the Tigers (4-3) from the opening tip. The Wildcats built a 13-point lead in the opening 5 minutes and were up 19 by halftime, cruising to the 37th straight non-conference win at McKale Center.

Kobi Simmons had 15 points and Kadeem Allen finished with 14 points and seven assists for Arizona. Markkanen had six rebounds and five assists.

Zach Lofton led Texas Southern with 19 points and Jalan McCloud added 14.

The Wildcats and Tigers met once, a 93-72 win by Arizona in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

Arizona raced to a 15-2 lead in that game and did the same thing to the Tigers in the rematch.

Scoring in transition, on 3-pointers and passes inside by their big men, the Wildcats made 20 of 35 shots in the first half and led 45-26. The 7-foot Markkanen was on the mark, hitting all three of his 3-point attempts to score 11 points by halftime.

Arizona rolled from there, never letting the lead dip under 16 points.

BIG PICTURE

Texas Southern stood little chance of hanging with the long, athletic Wildcats, but the experience could help them once the SWAC season starts.

Arizona responded nicely to its loss to Butler last week, shooting 62 percent and hitting 8 of 14 from 3-point range to roll over an opponent it was supposed to beat.

UP NEXT

Texas Southern plays at Southern Illinois on Saturday.

Arizona plays No. 9 Gonzaga in Los Angeles on Saturday

BOX SCORE

PHOTO GALLERY



UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS